Lewis & Clark Law School is adding four new Assistant Professors as faculty members for fall 2026. William (Bill) Shapiro will teach property and torts his first year, developing a more specialized course for his second year of teaching. Three will join the lawyering program: Melia Cerrato, Erin Severe and Cecil VanDevender. Both Severe and VanDevender taught in the program during the 2025-26 academic year as Visiting Professors.
“These four new faculty members bring a distinctive combination of rigorous scholarship and meaningful, practice-informed experience – from civil rights advocacy and public defense reform to federal prosecution and environmental litigation,” said Dean Alicia Ouellette. “Professors Severe and VanDevender have already strengthened our community during their time visiting with us, and we are thrilled to welcome Professors Cerrato and Shapiro. Together, they represent exactly the kind of scholar-practitioners who will challenge our students, deepen our scholarly community, and model what it means to use the law to do work that matters
Assistant Professor Melia Cerrato
Melia Cerrato is a high-performing civil rights and education-focused attorney with a strong academic background and extensive experience in public interest law, litigation, and advocacy. A magna cum laude graduate of Loyola University, where she ranked in the top 7% of her class, she also holds a Master’s in Education and began her career as a special education teacher.
Professor Cerrato built a practice focused on civil rights litigation, disability advocacy, and public records law. She has represented clients in cases involving employment discrimination, First Amendment rights, and has successfully negotiated settlements on behalf of families and individuals.
Most recently, she served as a Sunshine Legal Fellow at Tulane, representing journalists and advocating for government transparency, while also mentoring students. Her scholarship focuses on special education and government transparency.
Assistant Professor Erin Severe ’09
A Lewis & Clark Law School graduate, Erin Severe returned to teach legal writing in the Law School’s nationally ranked Lawyering program as a Visiting Professor in 2025-26. A seasoned public defense attorney, legal scholar, and educator, she has deep experience in appellate law, policy reform, and legal education.
Professor Severe previously served as a Research & Writing Attorney with the Federal Public Defender in Oregon, where she led federal appeals, supervised legal interns, and contributed to complex appellate litigation. Her career has also included senior leadership roles with Oregon’s Office of Public Defense Services, where she helped guide statewide public defense reform, managed large-scale contracts, and shaped governance and compliance systems.
A former appellate defender, judicial clerk, and past President of the ACLU of Oregon, her work reflects a longstanding commitment to civil liberties and justice reform.
Assistant Professor Cecil VanDevender
Cecil VanDevender is a former federal prosecutor and legal scholar with extensive experience in high-profile criminal litigation, appellate advocacy, and public service. Following a distinguished career in the U.S. Department of Justice, he joined Lewis & Clark Law School as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law in 2025-26.
Professor VanDevender most recently served as an Assistant Special Counsel, where he played a key role in litigation related to federal investigations and prosecutions of then-former President, Donald Trump. Prior to that, he spent over a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tennessee, including leadership roles as Appellate Chief and First Assistant U.S. Attorney, overseeing appellate work and supervising major criminal, civil, and administrative matters.
A magna cum laude graduate of Georgetown Law and former Editor-in-Chief of the Georgetown Law Journal, Professor VanDevender received multiple Department of Justice awards for distinguished service and continues to contribute to the legal community through teaching, writing, and legal scholarship.
Assistant Professor William (Bill) Shapiro
Bill Shapiro is a veteran federal attorney and legal educator with decades of career history in environmental law, complex civil litigation, and trial advocacy. He previously worked as a Visiting Professor and Interim Assistant Director of Trial Advocacy at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.
Professor Shapiro spent more than twenty years with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, most recently as an Assistant Section Chief. In that role, he led litigation teams handling high-stakes cases involving 5th Amendment property claims, environmental regulation, and federal land and water disputes.
A graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the school’s law journal, Professor Shapiro brings a blend of courtroom leadership, policy expertise, and academic experience to his work.
